Occupy Atlanta Rallies Against Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac
A group of Occupy Atlanta protestors today launched a campaign against Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. They’re upset that the government-backed mortgage giants won’t allow wide-scale principal reductions for underwater homeowners, despite appeals from President Obama to do just that.
“They’ve really emerged as the greatest obstacle to the housing justice movement in the whole country. They’re holding on to thousands of these homes and they’re only selling them to hedge funds at 20 cents on the dollar,” said Tim Franzen, one of the Occupy organizers.
Led by an offshoot of Occupy Atlanta called Occupy Our Homes ATL, the week of protests will culminate with a rally September 10th on the steps of Fannie Mae’s regional office in Buckhead.
In July, the acting director of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said the benefits of writing down delinquent loans would be too small to offset the potential costs. He warned it would encourage strategic defaults, in which borrowers who are current on their loans stop making payments in pursuit of a better deal.
Steve Boudreaux, however, says more flexibility is needed. The Marietta resident had his home foreclosed on earlier this summer.
“Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are 80 percent taxpayer-owned. That means that I own a little piece of it. It should mean I have a say. They seem to be just digging their heels, saying ‘no, suck it up.’”
Metro Atlanta’s housing market has been one of the hardest hit in the country. Despite signs of recovery, the 13-county region is still on pace for about 100,000 foreclosure notices in 2012.
“I don’t know if anyone’s been by the homeless shelters lately, but they’re turning away folks by the dozens, sometimes the hundreds,” said Franzen. “These are policies that would effectively be a game-changer for everybody.”
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